


Gone Too Soon

by viaberry



Category: Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)
Genre: Completing The Mission, Love Confessions, M/M, POV First Person, Spoilers, Valiant Hero Ending | VC (Henry Stickmin), i'm not really good at writing confessions lol, so happy to see there's a new game :D, this series is so nostalgic man
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:07:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26019271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viaberry/pseuds/viaberry
Summary: Days after escaping The Wall, Henry Stickmin reunites with Charles to wrap up their mission... however, pretty much everything goes wrong at one point.
Relationships: Charles Calvin/Henry Stickmin
Comments: 9
Kudos: 108





	Gone Too Soon

**Author's Note:**

> hi! i hope you enjoy this... thing. i've been wanting to write for this fandom for a really long time, and i finally got to it :D it's basically a novelization of the valiant hero ending from completing the mission, part of the henry stickmin collection. of course, i added some things in myself.
> 
> this has spoilers obviously so if you were planning to i'd recommend you play or watch the ending before reading this.
> 
> this story is in henry's point of view. he has quite a few speaking lines because i just want my mans to say something :(

I only have my luck to thank for helping me escape The Wall.

No doubt, that had to be the scariest moment of my life. I could have died back there, but I'm somehow still here.

The only thing I'm focused on right now is the television right in front of me. I was at a bar, having a cup of coffee, while a news broadcast was playing.

Previously keeping my head down, I looked up when the Romanian Ruby and Tunisian Diamond were mentioned. Huh, I've stolen the latter before. Keeping my eyes glued to the screen, the broadcast continued.

"The orbital station allows the Toppat Clan to easily raid any place on Earth."

Then, I heard something from outside. A loud crash.

I ran outside to see three Toppat members, firing while standing by a safe, a crashed truck next to them.

"HEY! Stop right there!" I heard a distant voice, then looked over and saw someone running to them. They wore a red and black headset. _Charles Calvin._ I worked with him not too long ago. The three Toppats were then beamed up by what was most likely the station.

"Damn it," Charles cursed to himself, looking down in defeat. "Missed them again."

After a few seconds, I called out to him. "Charles!" He looked up, his eyebrows raising.

"Henry...?" Charles looked me up and down, like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He must have heard the news that I was presumed dead. Finally, a large grin spread across his face as he ran over to me. "Henry! It's you! I heard you died!"

I nodded. "Yeah, something came up. I'm alive and well, though. What happened back there?"

"Long story. Let's chat inside, it's cold out here."

So that's what we did. We headed back inside and sat down at the counter.

"Ah, man..." Charles sighed, plopping down in his seat. "The Toppat Clan has been causing a bunch of problems for me lately."

"Does it have something to do with an orbital station, by any chance?" I asked, and we both looked up at the TV screen, which was still playing the broadcast from earlier.

"Yeah, actually. Ever since they got that set up, they've been _super_ strong." Charles paused for a second, then looked back at me. "Hey, now that I think about it, you and I made a pretty good team in the past! I bet we could take 'em out. It's starting to **get personal**."

The look on his face signaled that he was serious about this.

"Well, whaddaya say? Wanna help me take 'em out for good?"

"Absolutely," I confidentially grinned. Another mission with Charles? Sounds pretty fun, if you ask me. We _have_ made a good team in the past.

"Awesome! Alright, follow me. I have a way we can get into space."

Soon after, we were in space. In a _government prototype spaceship._ Wow.

"Secret government prototype. Whaddaya think?" Charles asked, to which I immediately responded.

"Wow, this is wild. I didn't even know you had one of these."

"Mhm, pretty cool isn't it?" Soon, we reached the orbital station we've been looking for. "There it is. Oh, this is so exciting, it's just like last time!"

Seeing Charles this excited made me smile ever so slightly. It was probably because of the positive energy he was giving off. Anywho, we should be focusing on how we were going to get over there.

"We're gonna need a way to get to the station," I said, and we both thought for a few seconds.

Finally, Charles came up with something. "I got a plan. Put on this space suit and hide in this ball of trash." On queue, a trash ball formed at the bottom of the ship.

"...What." I blankly stared, trying to process that sentence.

"What? It's a good idea, trust me." Well, if he's sure about this...

What do you know, the plan worked. The trash ball broke on contact with the wall, and I was left holding on to the station. Now, how to get in...

"See?! I told you it was a good idea," Charles exclaimed through the headset. "The Toppats have no clue you're there now. I'm gonna stick here so they don't detect me. Should be able to help you get inside from here though."

If that other plan worked, this next one should. "Alright, hit me with your next plan."

"Oh, I've got a plan alright. And it's a great one."

Charles continued to tell me his plan, and I was getting more and more concerned by the second. "Are you sure about this?"

"'Course I am! Trust me on this one, Henry. This calls for some bold action."

"Charles, I don't thi-"

" **I'm the bold action MAAAAN!** "

As you may have guessed, Charles crashed right into the station, setting off the alarm.

**"Warning! Critical damage to core. Please evacuate immediately!"**

Ouch, rough landing... How did I manage to survive that? The suit I was wearing must have slipped off somewhere. Don't know how, but it did.

A few seconds later, Charles landed right next to me. "I've always wanted to do that," he said with a small smile.

He was all scratched up from the fall. "Y-your face!" I blurted out, rushing over to him. "Oh god, Charles, why did you think that was a good idea?!" He _looked_ okay for the most part, but I couldn't help but be worried for him.

"Hey, don't worry about me," Charles stopped me from panicking any more than I already was. "I'm perfectly fine! ...I do appreciate the concern, though. Anyways, we should probably find a way off this station before it explodes."

I nodded, and we sprinted over to the main door, which just so happened to be jammed.

"Looks like the door's jammed," Charles muttered, trying the code panel several times. "This is the only way through."

My eyes verted to a nearby vent. "Hey, I bet that vent leads somewhere on the other side."

"Oh!" Charles turned to the vent, "Didn't even notice that! Yeah, let's try it."

"Craaawling through the veeents..." On our way through the vent, Charles started singing some song.

"Charles..." I sighed, trying and failing to stifle a laugh.

"I'm sorry! It just came to me!"

For those few seconds, I completely forgot what our goal was. I was so indulged in being with Charles, becoming closer with him, I wasn't focused on anything else.

...Why _was_ I so concerned for him a few minutes ago? I only feel that type of compassion when it's with someone I'm really close to, which hasn't happened for a long while.

Maybe I was beginning to see Charles as a really close friend. Actually... maybe something more.

...This could wait until we get home safely.

A loud boom interrupted my thoughts.

"Oh boy, we're running out of time."

Soon, we were out. That ended so quickly... but we had made it to the escape pods. This is it. We just have to choose an unoccupied pod, and we can finally go home.

We went for a cracked but unoccupied pod. I pressed the button to open it, but it didn't budge. I tried it again, it still didn't budge. With a forced grunt, I hit the button, and the door finally opened.

We were finally going home.

"Ahh, well that was intense," Charles sighed, "Can't wait to go ho- huh?"

Everything next happened so fast. A Toppat member threw me out of the still open pod; Charles ran out and was able to get me back in - he was still fighting with the Toppat.

The door suddenly closed. **With Charles still outside.**

"Don't worry about me!" he exclaimed, still struggling to keep the Toppat away. "I'll find another way!"

"Wait, I can't j-" The pod took off before I had the chance to finish.

_I can't just leave you here,_ was what I was about to say.

"Henry? You there?"

I heard Charles' voice through the headset. He was okay... he was alive.

"Charles!!" I exclaimed almost instantly. "God, I was so worried... Are you okay?!"

"For the most part, yes, but... ah man, that roughed me up. Got him though."

"You need to get out of there. Find another escape pod or something, just... _please_ make it out alive." I saw Charles moving around in the station, most likely trying to find a way out.

"There's gotta be another escape pod around here somewhere," he replied, sounding as calm as ever. I heard his footsteps, along with the station buzzing. It was going to explode any time now.

I had to tell him. It was now or never at this point.

"Charles..." I started, "If the worst happens, there's something I need to tell you." It was silent on the other end; I took this as a sign to keep talking.

"Something about this mission really stood out to me. Sure, taking out the Toppats was extremely satisfying, but... you know what I enjoyed the most? The time I spent with you, getting closer with you, all that. And incase you don't make it out alive, I should just go ahead and tell you..."

Here goes nothing.

"Back at the station, I was beginning to see you as a very close friend, but then I saw you as something more. Guess you could say I caught some feelings for you." I felt my face heating up as I spoke. "What I'm trying to say is... I love you, Charles Calvin. Glad I got a moment to tell you this."

After a few seconds, Charles finally said something. "Wow... Henry, I'm-" he seemed to be struggling to find the right words. "...y'know, now that I think about it, I've been feeling the same way. Henry, I love you too. More than words can describe."

For those few seconds, it was like my brain was producing large amounts of serotonin each second. This all felt like a dream; one of those dreams where you wake up right when you get to the good part. It felt like I was floating.

Well, I _was_ floating. We were in space.

"Well, we did it. We got 'em."

"...Once and for all," I whispered, softly smiling.

"Hah, pretty good plan. You could say it was the greates-"

And in an instant, that euphoric dream turned into a nightmare.

The station exploded. **With Charles still on it.**

This can't be happening. **This can't be happening.**

"Charles?! CHARLES?! Can you hear me?!" I yelled into the headset, but didn't hear anything from the other end. Only the sound of the station exploding, along with a long static beep. The signal must have cut out. I was pounding on the window, desperately trying to somehow reach out to Charles.

I eventually stopped knocking, leaning against the glass. I couldn't even look at the now exploded station, not when someone who was close to me was still on it.

I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. I could only mutter the same few things under my breath.

"This can't be happening. This isn't real. There's no way this is real. It's all a bad dream, I'll wake up in a few seconds. This _cannot_ be happening."

Soon, reality sank in.

_Stop talking, Henry. This is real. It's happening. Charles is gone._

"Charles..." I whispered, looking up at the station one last time,

**"I'm sorry. I'm so, _so_ sorry."**

I was back at the military base, accompanied by a solider.

"General! The Toppat station has been destroyed."

Hearing those words was supposed to make me feel accomplished. But it didn't. It made me feel terrible.

"Excellent news!" General Galeforce exclaimed. Meanwhile, I didn't say anything. I just stayed there, a defeated look on my face. I didn't even look up until he asked, "...What's wrong?"

I looked up, trying to blink back tears that were fighting to come out. "Charles is gone," I stated. "He got stuck on the station. He exploded with it."

General Galeforce stayed silent for a few seconds, most likely trying to process everything.

"He told me about it on the way here," the solider explained.

"Oh my god..." the General stood up. "Henry, I am so sorry. You and Charles made a great team. This is all very hard to take in."

That was it; the mission was complete, but it didn't feel compete. There was no feeling of accomplishment; instead, a feeling that something was missing. That something - or someone - was Charles. Nothing about this mission felt complete with him gone.

The next day, I visited the tombstone that was made in Charles' honor. I chose the location for it; a cliff overlooking a large ocean. I had placed his headset on it prior to today.

"Hey, Charles," I kneeled down at the tombstone, "I've been thinking of you a lot since what happened yesterday." I paused for a second. "Wow... I still can't believe you're gone."

"It's amazing how I've lost complete track of time whenever I was with you. Up at the station, I've forgotten multiple times what our objective was for a few seconds. I'm glad I found out why, and I'm glad I told you."

"I wish I could have changed something so we both got home safely. Better yet..." I exhaled forcefully, "I wish I was there with you. If I went out up there, I would have been with you, and that's all that matters. My god, you went out way too soon..."

He was only 28. Sure, he was the same age as I am, but he was still so, so young.

I stood up at last. "Rest easy, Charles..." I breathed out, giving a salute before walking off.

**Author's Note:**

> so uh. that was it. that was the story.
> 
> this ending... this ending man. i had to write this ending in particular because DAMN it got me messed up :(
> 
> like i said in the tags, i'm not really good at writing confessions so i apologize if that one part seemed rushed. i tried my best to write this!
> 
> in this house, we stan charles calvin.


End file.
